Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-06-06
CLASS OF 81.
BACCALAUREATE SERMON DELIvEREDLAST
EVENING.
To the Graduates Of the Wheeling Female College
at the Fourth Street n. (. Church-Rev.
G.E Hite DsoourSes Eloqlsntly.
Synopsis Of the Sermon.

at the Fourth Street n. (. Church-Rev.
GE Hit5 DiscorrSes Eloqlsntly.
Synopsis Of the Sermon.
The commencement exercises of the class
of - Of the Wheeling Female College,
were inaugurated last evening by the de-
| livery OF the. .baccalaureate sermon at the
Fourth Street NJ. f. Church, by Rev.
George L., llite The church was deco
rated with flowers for the occasion, the
oiOr OF which filled the air with sweet
ness. The auditorium was filed with
friends OF the graduates and college who
listened atteutiycly toan eloquent sermon.
The class occupied seats well up in front
with part OF the pupils Of the COLLEGE,
while others were scattered about through
the audience. The sermon was entitled
! "Ohert5 in Life, and was one of thc.
most elnIucnt and instructive ever listened
to in Wheeling, heing all Of good advice
Tor the young ladies who are soon To he
ushcrti out upon ;he sea Of life.
The length OF the sermon prctAhdes Il %
possibility ofprinting it entire, and only
u synopsis can bc given.
The reverend gentleman took lor his
text James l., II: For what is your
lilc?" He began by saying there has never
been time in the history of this world
when men searched after the secrets OF ma
turc as they do now. Nothing is allowed
to pass unquestioncd, the "why' and the
wherefore" being put to everything. IT
is pre-cmincniy an ~, Of inquiry and in
legation, and lor this every intelligent
man is thankful No ran of intelligence
| regrets that the fields "a science and phi
losophy are being 50 diligently and sue
ccsSlully cultivated. He feels sense oi
pleasure at the announcement oi every
fresh triumph of science. so far from
qucnching or discouraging this spirit Of
honest inquiry, il should hc lostcrcd and
encouraged. cod, he said, has given It's
two wonderful books. One is entitled,
"Naturc,n and the other "RcvCatlOn.
He has commanded us to study diligently
! these books Both uf them contain dark
passages, hard tn br understood. Any man
who can deciphrr the hicrOglyphirS uf he
one and interpret the obscure things of the
other, must he accounted the friend OF his
race, and not an enemy. Thank God. such
has been the progress Of human liberty,
that no herarrhal dcspOtism no ccclcs-
astiCal tyranny, dare reach ont its iron
hand and throttle liberty, civil or religI.
Ous. No modern Galilio can be- made 10
prostratc himself before m ignor
ant, cruel, higot court Of in
QUESTION and deny any ascertaincd
fact oI sricncr, unless hc first sell
his hirtmight by placing himself under
the control OF that pohtlco cCclcsils-
teal organization that has ever, aud docs
now, rob its COMMITMENTS of every vcstIge
OF liberty whether of Thought or of con
science. The fullest freedom of thought
il sanctioned by our country and the spirit
of our times, and the speaker wa1 not here
10 cry halt to the onward march Of srcnoc
nor drpl0rc the spirit Of inquiry that is 80
rite on all sides. was, he thought, right
that this inquiry 20 ON, but the question
hc raised was: Are the facts of physical
science EhIr.i%E"@o ~ 81 our study HsIth."
vcst~aiion? Ifo thought no mystery
could be- nearly 40 important to
him rs the problem of his
own existence. "For what is your liic?'
! The answer Of no question, hc said, WAS ot
such moment Us the right answer tO this.
One may know why worlds rcvolvc, and
| why the tides of the ocean cbb and dow;
one may know the properties of heat and
electricity, and the value Of light and
sound; nature may, ~ scientific inquiry
advances, he forced 10 give up her secrets
one after another, but il, after nIl this, the
/ inquirer fail To ascertain the purpose for
/ which he is in this world. he has missed
the solution of the all-important question
| Furthermore, the speaker said, he must
not only know the object for which he
7 lived, but the way Ia accomplish that
object ~ well. lie said it was
doubtless well for the glory of God, the
. harmony and order of the universe and
/ for the general good, that all things
accomplish the end for which they were
made, but all this avails little if the pur
pose of ones creation is overlooked. Thus
! there ever rises before us the question:
"FOr what is thy liie?' Shall we he able
| TO answer that question, before which all
Others must fade and pale?
To stay To argue that there il purpose
in our creation, the reverend gentleman
said would be- Il waste of time. From the
largest world that wheels along lis track
tO the smallest star that glittcrS in the
iewclcd crown 0t Night; from the mighticst
angel before the Throne down 10 the
anamalculc, y thousand of which make
their home i'll Il single drop nl water.
there IL Il purpose, and OF all
this infinite range, a strange thing it was
that il is only Il being endowed with in
tclleCt, reason and will that is found scry
Ing purp0sc unworthy of its nature.
Man, he said, may sink Ia the lowest
depths of dcpnvity, or rise to the lOItIcst
height of purity. He may become ~
angel; he has been known 10 become Il
devil Start the world anew, aud let
men and angels accomplish the end for
which they live, and history as we now
have it would he out oI iUInt with the
facts. The speaker said the,physcal uni
verse presented nothing but concord and
unbr0kcn harmony. while the moral world
presented scene Of conflict and tumult
The old heather philosophers were greatly
perplcxcd hy this and sought a theory which
was woriully at fault The tumult and
iarring of a morIl world was The effect at
mans failure to accomplish the object Tor
which hc was called into being. Con
tinuing. hr said no inholcui person, no
persons whose aSSnciJtIoms are hurtiul, !
none who Yield themselves hlhiiually - |
the spirit oI discomfort, and none wh1 |
make personal care aud comfort their |
chief concern, wnud ever fulfill the pur-
post lur which lii;. has been given, Ind |
he illustrated and enforced this by = |
powerful argument. In the course of this |
he warned his hearers against allowing |
themselves Ia hcrnmr Infatuated and car |
ricd away by the destinations of iicticious |
literature. and plead with thcni ito cs-
prcinliy beware nf hooks ni q ialse and |
Sirkly sentiment such ~ formed the |
staple commodity of the average novel.
In defining the end and object for which
God has given us life aud placed u1 on the |
earth. the reverend gentleman said:
"T0 have Christ Jesus inc.lrnated in our |
souls and 0util0wIng from H. ~ the light
and heat from y0ndrr sun, In NIL our inter |
course and relations with th" world, mani
TESTING Christ in all the bcnciiccncc ami cK-
altcd purity of His divine nature-thIs. !
| conceive, la he the purpose OF being. II |